Rendell Center awarded Annenberg Civics Prize to produce First Amendment videos

The Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics has awarded the Rendell Center for Civics and Civic Engagement the 2023 Civic Mission of the Nation Award to create a video series focused on the United States Constitution. 

$73,000 will be awarded to the Rendell Center to produce six videos for community colleges. These hourlong videos will be part of a series focusing on the First Amendment, concentrating on its interpretation, historical context, landmark Supreme Court cases, and significance on American society.  

The videos will feature scholars and federal court judges examining the rights of individuals. The series will also touch on how the constitutional Framers’ ideas of speech, religion, press, and the rights of assembly and petitioning the government under the protection of the First Amendment have evolved alongside the interpretations of Supreme Court justices. 

By Constitution Day 2024, the center will release the series, which expands on a curriculum they have made available to middle and high school teachers through a one-week seminar program in Philadelphia. 

The Civic Mission of the Nation Award, in partnership with the Civics Renewal Network, supports civic education for adult learners in community colleges, the military, and businesses, specifically by developing and spreading free, non-partisan resources and programs. The program helps CRN partners amend and create curricula that advance the understanding of the Constitution.

The Rendell Center was founded in 2014 by 1965 College graduate Ed Rendell and Senior Third Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Marjorie Rendell. The center hopes to renew civic-mindedness in schools by supporting K-12 teachers and administrators to advance U.S. history, civics, and government.

Rendell also served as mayor of Philadelphia from 1992 to 2000, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1999 to 2001, and Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011. He currently teaches "PSCI 1207: Who Gets Elected and Why? The Science of Politics at Penn."

Recently, Rendell joined several prominent alumni critiquing Penn's approach to the Palestine Writes Literature Festival, which was hosted on campus but not directly organized by the University. 

He called on Penn President Liz Magill to establish an independent committee of experienced students, faculty, and alumni to develop standards that prevent any group that "breaches hate or the acceptable use of violence" from reserving space for events on University property.